2018 Toyota RAV4 lights problems

Filed Jul 5, 2026 · Airbags, Electrical · MA

While I am driving my Toyota RAV4, the car will suddenly shut off and I can restart it and keep driving as the month is going on. The incidents are happening more often and now the dashboard is going black. I’ve had a couple of warning signs on the dashboard. I brought the car to Toyota and Pep Boys. Both of them checked the electrical systems and everything looks good according to their testing.

Filed Mar 5, 2026 · Lights · NE

Both headlights and taillights are stained on the inside of the lens with a white residue. My headlights are very streaky and it makes it difficult to see out of. Not the outside of the headlight, because when i rub my hands along the outsides, i do not feel any grabbing, scratches, film, etc.

Filed May 1, 2023 · Electrical, Lights · MT · fire

We bought our Rav4 fresh of the lot in 2018, since then e we have replaced the headlight bulbs 43 times. Now our fog lights and license plate light are out. This time the bulb (installed by a professional) melting the actual socket and we have to built the entire thing out and replace it.

Filed Aug 3, 2022 · Lights · VA

Wiring harness in many vehicles defective. Letter sent, but not a recall. I drove from NY to VA unaware that a headlight was out- I had to change bulbs several times, and ended up having to pay $500 for a new lighting system because I put the bulb in (apparently) wrong the 5th time. Accident could have happened due to bad lighting, but fortunately did not. Toyota did not make this issue easily known, or easily fixed.

Filed Jul 21, 2021 · Lights, Visibility · NY · crash

The headlights on my Rav4 are dangerous. When driving at night there is a dark line with no visibility. There is no reaction time if objects are in the roadway. I live in a rural area, on my way to work there was a pine tree that fell across the road way,I crashed straight into it. I did not even see it until I hit it.

Filed Mar 18, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · 14,500 miles · GA

Starting late aug2020 the dashboard starting to show warning lights randomly and inconsistently. All warning lights do not come at the same time but when turning the external lights on other warning lights turn on and so far the car have stalled more than 4 times while driving under 40 MPH. The last 3 times the car started right after being parked and but this last time it did not and while I was waiting for a tow almost had an accident from behind me as the car that was coming behind me stopped and was hit by another car behind him. I took it to the dealer and since it is out of warranty they would not touch it and all they did was disconnect the battery so the warranting lights turn off and send me back out and with in 15 min on the road the lights started to comeback on again but the car did not die on the road. The car is barely 3 years old and only have 14,500 miles on it and it is becoming very unreliable to drive.

Filed Dec 4, 2020 · Lights · 40,000 miles · KY

I have an auto shift off for high beam lights, I turn my high beams on and they don't work, and when I pull the switch back like I am trying to flash my high beams at someone they work but when I turn them on to keep them on they do not work and my auto high beam light does not come on either. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 2, 2020 · Lights · 2,000 miles · CA

There is not particular incident to report. The headlight beams are to low on low-beam use, with a hard edge at the top so it is impossible to see far down the road. The high beam setting it too high, so the light goes 30 feet above the roadway, and does not illuminate the road further ahead. This is a faulty design. I was able to adjust the bulb housing to lower the high beam so it actually showed more road , and the problem of deer on the roadway in the mountains. There should be separate adjustments for high/low beams, and the lower beam should show more roadway ahead.

Filed Aug 14, 2019 · Lights · 10,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 toyota rav4. The contact stated that the high beam headlights were faulty and would not operate when activated. The contact drove the vehicle to don joseph toyota (1111 w main st, kent, oh 44240, (330) 673-2200), but the failure could not be duplicated and no failure codes were found. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired four times within six months for the same failure, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the regional team was responsible for handling the situation. The failure mileage was 10,000.

Filed Mar 16, 2019 · Lights · 7,870 miles · NC

Auto light feature does not work properly: on many occasions (about 2-3 times per week), while car is in motion early in the morning and at night, with the headlights in the "auto" mode and the automatic high beam feature enabled. When starting the car, the auto light function seems to be delayed. It does not work initially but starts working after the car is in motion for several minutes. The auto light feature is not staying on after car is in motion at night, lights turn off by themselves for a few seconds causing me to drive without lights before they turn themselves back on. Luckily I was driving slowly, otherwise it could have caused a serious accident. I took the car to the dealer a few times to fix the issue but they couldn't figure out the cause of the problem. No solution. They sugguested that I manually operate the lights. I do not think that I or any other car owners should pay money for a brand new car that offers convenience features that do not work. I was told that there is a mechanic at this particular dealership that owns the same car model and is having the same issue with his car. This issue is new and to my knowledge, there is not a technical service bulletin. Also, there are times that I smell gas in the car while the car is in motion. The dealer couldn't find any gas leaks when checked.